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Nora Breen Investigates #2
Murder at the Spirit Lounge
In the second installment of the Nora Breen Investigates series—“perfect for cozy mystery lovers” (Book Riot)—beloved former nun Nora Breen returns, this time to track down a ghostly killer before it’s too late.
When Dolores Chimes, a famous medium, arrives in Gore-on-Sea, even surly Detective Inspector Rideout is lured in by her promises of messages for the afterlife.
But after a reading goes disastrously wrong, Dolores loses her life—and the six sitters at the séance with her fall victim to supernatural deaths themselves in the days following the nightmare of a reading.
Determined to unveil the truth, Nora finds herself chasing a ghostly serial killer she believes to be responsible, before the sixth victim—Detective Rideout himself—perishes along with the others.
When Dolores Chimes, a famous medium, arrives in Gore-on-Sea, even surly Detective Inspector Rideout is lured in by her promises of messages for the afterlife.
But after a reading goes disastrously wrong, Dolores loses her life—and the six sitters at the séance with her fall victim to supernatural deaths themselves in the days following the nightmare of a reading.
Determined to unveil the truth, Nora finds herself chasing a ghostly serial killer she believes to be responsible, before the sixth victim—Detective Rideout himself—perishes along with the others.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2026
About the author
Jess Kidd
17 books2,580 followersJess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder, published as Mr. Flood's Last Resort in the U.S. and Canada was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her latest book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
May 5, 2026
Murder at the Spirit Lounge is the second book in the Nora Breen Investigates series by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. Former Carmelite nun, Nora Breen first encounters popular psychic, Doreen Chimes when Gore-on-Sea’s Detective Inspector Hilary Rideout requests her presence at the lady’s residence, Ravensholme, reporting a minor theft.
Nora is a little concerned when Rideout seems uncharacteristically gullible about the medium’s powers. The next time she sees Doreen Chimes, the woman is mysteriously dead, mid-message from beyond, during a séance attended by only a select group of invitees, one of whom is Rideout. Shocked, they may be, but each attendee must be questioned, as must the missing Ravensholme charwoman.
On a more pragmatic note, with her cash reserves running low, Nora is thinking she’ll need to visit a second-hand store for clothing if she doesn’t get a paying job soon, when fellow Gulls Nest lodger, Bill Carter presents a novel solution that very much appeals to her. To her surprise, she is soon comfortably attired in masculine wear, which comes in handy on a later trip to London.
Photographer and jazz enthusiast, Mr Hosmer understands Nora’s financial predicament, and recommends her to Martine Hartigan, the editor of the Gore-on-Sea Herald, in need of a reporter. He hopes that doing things like reviewing the food offered by the Marine Hotel’s new French chef will keep her out of harm’s way.
But lunch there proves otherwise, as Nora witnesses one séance attendee, apparently hallucinating, jumping to her death from a window, while the young woman’s mother, also present at Doreen Chimes’s death, is found dead in her bed. What frightened Harriet Braybrooke was the spectral figure of a uniformed young man, also seen by Nora.
Trace evidence in Lady Constance Braybrooke’s room provides a firm link to Doreen’s demise, apparently murder. Rideout and Breen quickly understand that each person at the séance is therefore in danger of being murdered. Links are sought between the victims and the seemingly disparate remaining potential targets: a curmudgeonly military type lodged at Gulls Nest; an actress staying at a theatrical boarding house; a developer ensconced in the Marine Hotel’s penthouse suite; and Rideout himself.
Interrogations, trace evidence, manner of death, research, and Nora’s interviews with two of those remaining, lead to visits to a refuge for shell-shocked servicemen, and a London Gentleman’s Club, as Rideout and Breen follow up every possible avenue in search of motive. By the time three more have been murdered, Nora has observed that there’s a definite theatrical quality to this very inventive killer’s work: electrocution, poisoning, suffocation, maddening, fire and garrotting have all been employed by a master of disguise. Along with Rideout’s colleagues, Nora is extremely worried when he is the last man standing.
There’s plenty of dry, and sometimes, black humour in the banter between characters, and Kidd gives Nora some great lines:
“’Miss Breen, I would caution you against letting your imagination run away with you,’ he says, uppishly. ‘I appreciate that ladies are more excitable, less level-headed—’
Nora snorts. ‘And I would caution you, Colonel Fulford, to sift through your mind’s flotsam before letting it froth out of your mouth.’”
There are serious moments too: about a shell-shocked serviceman, Rideout observes “‘We had a job to do, and we had to keep on doing it day after day. So naturally many of us– and not just our group captain– frowned down on the men who chose to unravel.’” To which Nora replies “You thought those men had a choice of whether or not to unravel?”
Some exchanges, Nora isn’t sure about: “‘He’ll think you’re my fancy woman.’
‘Don’t even joke about it.’
Rideout starts the engine. ‘Would that be so dreadful after all?’”
Rideout does now seem to be resigned to Nora sticking her coulter in: “You have an open invitation, Breen. You’re usually to be found wherever the trouble is anyway.”
Before matters are resolved, there are red herrings and distractions in the lead up to a nail-biting climax. This is another delightful helping of Nora Breen and her Gore-on-Sea associates, and fans will have fingers crossed that Jess Kidd has more of this cast up her literary sleeve.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber Ltd.
Nora is a little concerned when Rideout seems uncharacteristically gullible about the medium’s powers. The next time she sees Doreen Chimes, the woman is mysteriously dead, mid-message from beyond, during a séance attended by only a select group of invitees, one of whom is Rideout. Shocked, they may be, but each attendee must be questioned, as must the missing Ravensholme charwoman.
On a more pragmatic note, with her cash reserves running low, Nora is thinking she’ll need to visit a second-hand store for clothing if she doesn’t get a paying job soon, when fellow Gulls Nest lodger, Bill Carter presents a novel solution that very much appeals to her. To her surprise, she is soon comfortably attired in masculine wear, which comes in handy on a later trip to London.
Photographer and jazz enthusiast, Mr Hosmer understands Nora’s financial predicament, and recommends her to Martine Hartigan, the editor of the Gore-on-Sea Herald, in need of a reporter. He hopes that doing things like reviewing the food offered by the Marine Hotel’s new French chef will keep her out of harm’s way.
But lunch there proves otherwise, as Nora witnesses one séance attendee, apparently hallucinating, jumping to her death from a window, while the young woman’s mother, also present at Doreen Chimes’s death, is found dead in her bed. What frightened Harriet Braybrooke was the spectral figure of a uniformed young man, also seen by Nora.
Trace evidence in Lady Constance Braybrooke’s room provides a firm link to Doreen’s demise, apparently murder. Rideout and Breen quickly understand that each person at the séance is therefore in danger of being murdered. Links are sought between the victims and the seemingly disparate remaining potential targets: a curmudgeonly military type lodged at Gulls Nest; an actress staying at a theatrical boarding house; a developer ensconced in the Marine Hotel’s penthouse suite; and Rideout himself.
Interrogations, trace evidence, manner of death, research, and Nora’s interviews with two of those remaining, lead to visits to a refuge for shell-shocked servicemen, and a London Gentleman’s Club, as Rideout and Breen follow up every possible avenue in search of motive. By the time three more have been murdered, Nora has observed that there’s a definite theatrical quality to this very inventive killer’s work: electrocution, poisoning, suffocation, maddening, fire and garrotting have all been employed by a master of disguise. Along with Rideout’s colleagues, Nora is extremely worried when he is the last man standing.
There’s plenty of dry, and sometimes, black humour in the banter between characters, and Kidd gives Nora some great lines:
“’Miss Breen, I would caution you against letting your imagination run away with you,’ he says, uppishly. ‘I appreciate that ladies are more excitable, less level-headed—’
Nora snorts. ‘And I would caution you, Colonel Fulford, to sift through your mind’s flotsam before letting it froth out of your mouth.’”
There are serious moments too: about a shell-shocked serviceman, Rideout observes “‘We had a job to do, and we had to keep on doing it day after day. So naturally many of us– and not just our group captain– frowned down on the men who chose to unravel.’” To which Nora replies “You thought those men had a choice of whether or not to unravel?”
Some exchanges, Nora isn’t sure about: “‘He’ll think you’re my fancy woman.’
‘Don’t even joke about it.’
Rideout starts the engine. ‘Would that be so dreadful after all?’”
Rideout does now seem to be resigned to Nora sticking her coulter in: “You have an open invitation, Breen. You’re usually to be found wherever the trouble is anyway.”
Before matters are resolved, there are red herrings and distractions in the lead up to a nail-biting climax. This is another delightful helping of Nora Breen and her Gore-on-Sea associates, and fans will have fingers crossed that Jess Kidd has more of this cast up her literary sleeve.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber Ltd.
March 19, 2026
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, so I was really excited to return to Nora Breen’s world and see where the story would go next. I’m very glad this is continuing as a series, but this installment didn’t quite hit the same mark for me.
The first half of the book felt quite slow, and it took me several days to get through roughly the first 50–55%. There was a lot of buildup that, in my opinion, could have been tightened, as some sections felt repetitive or padded and didn’t add much to the overall mystery. That said, once the story picked up, it really picked up. The second half moved at a much stronger pace and became far more engaging, and I ended up finishing it quickly once things fell into place.
I was also hoping for more development between Nora and Rideout. The slow-burn dynamic continues here, but it didn’t feel like it progressed much compared to the first book. I did find Nora’s characterization interesting in parts, particularly the direction the author seems to be exploring with her identity, though it didn’t fully land for me in this installment.
Overall, this felt like a slower middle book that could have benefited from tighter editing, but I’m still invested enough in the series to pick up the next one and see where it goes
The first half of the book felt quite slow, and it took me several days to get through roughly the first 50–55%. There was a lot of buildup that, in my opinion, could have been tightened, as some sections felt repetitive or padded and didn’t add much to the overall mystery. That said, once the story picked up, it really picked up. The second half moved at a much stronger pace and became far more engaging, and I ended up finishing it quickly once things fell into place.
I was also hoping for more development between Nora and Rideout. The slow-burn dynamic continues here, but it didn’t feel like it progressed much compared to the first book. I did find Nora’s characterization interesting in parts, particularly the direction the author seems to be exploring with her identity, though it didn’t fully land for me in this installment.
Overall, this felt like a slower middle book that could have benefited from tighter editing, but I’m still invested enough in the series to pick up the next one and see where it goes
May 13, 2026
Nora Breen is back to solve another crime.
Nora is still at Gull's Nest in Gore-on-Sea, the site of the first murders, but she's at a loose end and running out of money. Thankfully she doesn't have to wait long until DI Rideout is asking for help on another case.
Breen rushes to help at a seance to which Rideout, along with several other luminaries, have been especially invited by the renowned medium, Doreen Chimes. Unfortunately for Ms Chimes she had not foreseen her own demise. The only clues to what happened are the odd markings on Ms Chimes body and the eerie message spelt out on the ouija board - EVE.
And Ms Chimes is far from the only victim of the seance. As the body count increases it becomes clear that someone is targeting the seance attendees; that means Rideout is in the firing line.
Can Breen and Rideout chase down the deranged murderer once more or will Rideout pay the ultimate price?
Another wonderful murder mystery from the great Jess Kidd. Is there no genre she cannot turn her hand to? I love the characters in these books. Rideout's grumpy demeanour works so well with Nora's no-nonsense approach.
As in the first book the residents of Gull's Nest Guest House all play their parts including the silent Diana who always seems to know more than may be healthy for her and Bill Carter who is happy to provide Nora with interesting outfits.
Oddly for me I actually managed to figure out some parts of whodunnit. But there are several twists along the way to keep you guessing. I am hopeless with really complicated plots but there is just enough in here to keep me happy and mostly confused.
Definitely recommended. I'd read the first Nora Breen before starting this but even if you don't it should be easy enough to read as a stand alone.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the digital review copy.
Nora is still at Gull's Nest in Gore-on-Sea, the site of the first murders, but she's at a loose end and running out of money. Thankfully she doesn't have to wait long until DI Rideout is asking for help on another case.
Breen rushes to help at a seance to which Rideout, along with several other luminaries, have been especially invited by the renowned medium, Doreen Chimes. Unfortunately for Ms Chimes she had not foreseen her own demise. The only clues to what happened are the odd markings on Ms Chimes body and the eerie message spelt out on the ouija board - EVE.
And Ms Chimes is far from the only victim of the seance. As the body count increases it becomes clear that someone is targeting the seance attendees; that means Rideout is in the firing line.
Can Breen and Rideout chase down the deranged murderer once more or will Rideout pay the ultimate price?
Another wonderful murder mystery from the great Jess Kidd. Is there no genre she cannot turn her hand to? I love the characters in these books. Rideout's grumpy demeanour works so well with Nora's no-nonsense approach.
As in the first book the residents of Gull's Nest Guest House all play their parts including the silent Diana who always seems to know more than may be healthy for her and Bill Carter who is happy to provide Nora with interesting outfits.
Oddly for me I actually managed to figure out some parts of whodunnit. But there are several twists along the way to keep you guessing. I am hopeless with really complicated plots but there is just enough in here to keep me happy and mostly confused.
Definitely recommended. I'd read the first Nora Breen before starting this but even if you don't it should be easy enough to read as a stand alone.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the digital review copy.
May 17, 2026
This didn’t work quite as well for me. The last novel was also about Nora stepping away from a life as a nun. This one was more of a straightforward murder mystery. I still enjoyed it but the depth of the last one wasn’t there.
January 16, 2026
This is the second in the Nora Breen Investigates crime series but stands alone quite well. There ae clearly things you don’t know about Nora and Detective Rideout from the first novel but nothing that detracts anything from this story. It is well paced and has good characterisations throughout. The plot works well, and I enjoyed the mystery and it’s resolution although the end did feel slightly abrupt. I found this an engaging, enjoyable story .
My thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.
My thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.
March 23, 2026
3.5 stars
June 1, 2026
Murder at the Spirit Lounge was a mystery worth every moment spent untangling it. The locked room setup escalated in the best way, with suspects becoming victims and the tension ratcheting up with every chapter. Nora's sharp wit and dry humor shone once more, and the Gull's Nest inn and its residents were an absolute hoot. The reveal was satisfying in a way that rewarded my patience. I sat down one afternoon and couldn't put it down.
The audiobook narrated by Philippa Dunne made it even better. She knew exactly how to bring out Nora's no-nonsense attitude, and whether you paired it with the print or listened on its own, you won't go wrong either way.
Thank you Atria Books, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster Audio for my gifted review copies. All opinions are my own.
The audiobook narrated by Philippa Dunne made it even better. She knew exactly how to bring out Nora's no-nonsense attitude, and whether you paired it with the print or listened on its own, you won't go wrong either way.
Thank you Atria Books, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster Audio for my gifted review copies. All opinions are my own.
May 10, 2026
Yes Nora is back for a second outing, supported ably by the team of regular characters which readers are loving. After Nora's first bit of amateur sleuthing, she finds herself becoming Inspector Rideout's right hand woman when a murder takes place during a seance leaving those who attended at risk of being 'knocked off' themselves. Nora and Rideout find themselves up against the clock to find the killer.
I cannot stress how likeable the characters are in the Nora Breen Investigates series. Firstly there's the rather spectacular Nora and Inspector Rideout and then there's the supporting characters, a favourite is Irene, Nora's ebullient (not) landlady who has some great laugh out loud moments. Jess Kidd manages to mix the humour with some dark themes, what war does to men and women, the psychological damage and how Nora faces her own past. If you are looking for an entertaining, well written read then look no further, I look forward to spending time with Nora, Rideout and Irene again. A joy.
I cannot stress how likeable the characters are in the Nora Breen Investigates series. Firstly there's the rather spectacular Nora and Inspector Rideout and then there's the supporting characters, a favourite is Irene, Nora's ebullient (not) landlady who has some great laugh out loud moments. Jess Kidd manages to mix the humour with some dark themes, what war does to men and women, the psychological damage and how Nora faces her own past. If you are looking for an entertaining, well written read then look no further, I look forward to spending time with Nora, Rideout and Irene again. A joy.
June 3, 2026
I so enjoyed this second book in the Nora Breen mystery series.
This time out Nora helps Detective Rideout solve the murders of a group of people who attended a seance by special invitation and the famous medium dies at the start of it.. and then one by one each person who attended that seance is ending up dead.
Former nun, Nora is still living in the boardinghouse at Gore-on-Sea, with some of the same characters.. always entertaining!
Lovely, charming, and mysterious!
I hope there will be more!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free digital book in exchange for my honest review!
This time out Nora helps Detective Rideout solve the murders of a group of people who attended a seance by special invitation and the famous medium dies at the start of it.. and then one by one each person who attended that seance is ending up dead.
Former nun, Nora is still living in the boardinghouse at Gore-on-Sea, with some of the same characters.. always entertaining!
Lovely, charming, and mysterious!
I hope there will be more!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free digital book in exchange for my honest review!
May 24, 2026
Thank you to Goodreads and the publishing company for the opportunity to read this ARC. The book was a slow start for me as it took me a little while to adjust to the dialect and word choice. However, the more I read, the more that word choice and dialect lended itself to the character development and storylines.
Nora Breen is a lovable character who makes self-discovery a relatable experience. This cozy mystery is a charming read!
Nora Breen is a lovable character who makes self-discovery a relatable experience. This cozy mystery is a charming read!
April 17, 2026
I really enjoyed this second installment in the series. It felt like it struck a good balance tying book one too book two. Once again, I was able to predict the twist pretty early on, not that necessarily is a bad thing.
Wonder where the next book will go!
Wonder where the next book will go!
June 2, 2026
This book had me not wanting to stop reading from start to finish! The twists and turns were exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Nora Breen!
May 21, 2026
We re-join ex-nun Nora in Gore-on-Sea where a famous medium has arrived in town. Doreen Chimes’s séance are invite only and Inspector Rideout has been invited to one. But when the guests are assembled and the séance begins the medium dies and other guests are soon dead too. Nora starts to investigate – even though Rideout tells her not to – to try and catch a serial killer before Rideout becomes the next victim.
I mentioned in my review of the previous book that I really enjoyed watching Nora discover who she is now she’s not in the convent and that process of self discovery continues in this. The mystery is good, but the characters are almost better – with Nora and Rideout bickering, as well as the regulars at the boarding house and Hosmer. The post-World War II setting also works really well, with the seediness and shabbiness of a seaside town conjuring a distinct atmosphere. I really really loved it, and I can’t wait for the next one. My only regret is that I read it in March ahead of a May release – and so I’ve got even longer to wait for book three. There were some characters from book one who didn’t make a reappearance in book two, which I hope means they will pop up again in a future book, because there are certainly some unanswered questions left at the end of this.
****Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.******
I mentioned in my review of the previous book that I really enjoyed watching Nora discover who she is now she’s not in the convent and that process of self discovery continues in this. The mystery is good, but the characters are almost better – with Nora and Rideout bickering, as well as the regulars at the boarding house and Hosmer. The post-World War II setting also works really well, with the seediness and shabbiness of a seaside town conjuring a distinct atmosphere. I really really loved it, and I can’t wait for the next one. My only regret is that I read it in March ahead of a May release – and so I’ve got even longer to wait for book three. There were some characters from book one who didn’t make a reappearance in book two, which I hope means they will pop up again in a future book, because there are certainly some unanswered questions left at the end of this.
****Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for review consideration. All opinions are my own.******
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4★
"The light is failing quickly, so that the high hedges either side of the lane loom darkly and Nora feels like a rat running down a gutter. She senses that she's being followed but hears only her own footsteps, and the hammering of her heart, and the rush of blood in her ears. Nora keeps her nerve. One-two-one-two. Quick march towards the station. A distance that seems five times longer now than it did in broad daylight."
Nora Breen is definitely finding her feet in the rather tatty Gulls Nest boarding house at Gore-on-Sea on the Kent coast of southeast England. The author brings new readers up to speed easily, explaining Nora's previous life as a nun and nurse, now 'free' from the demands of the convent and able to pursue whatever she wishes.
She had no idea what she was looking for, but it was impossible to ignore the unexplained deaths in the boarding house, and a lesser person might have fled to a more salubrious location.
Her growing interest in the puzzle of the murders led her to assist (her attitude) or interfere with (his attitude) Detective Inspector Rideout's investigation. Her obvious intelligence and quick wit won the day, and here she has been invited to help figure out this apparently closed-room mystery.
A séance, attended by Rideout and six other clients, ends in catastrophe almost as soon as it starts, with a shocking death and a roomful of terrified suspects, each wondering if the message "Eve" had been meant for them.
"'The detective inspector has telephoned me at the station and told me to find a duty doctor, but they are all out on call.'
'So, Rideout asked you to bring me instead?'
'No. That was my idea.' The constable's expression turns from earnest to beseeching. 'Will you come, Miss Breen?'
She will, of course."
I imagine the author must have been tempted to work some magical realism into this, given the nature of séances, but she resisted. This is a straight-forward, though complicated, mystery that harks back many years into the lives of the various people and how their paths may have crossed.
Some characters are members of a visiting troop of actors, which adds more colour to the story of this small town.
Rideout and Breen, as he insists upon addressing her, are developing a nice camaraderie with a little extra warmth that makes it difficult for them when each sees the other step into danger. They've begun to care.
"Rideout gets out of his car, puts on his trilby and climbs the front steps. Not for the first time Nora observes that the detective inspector looks a lot like a leading man. He moves with vigour and purpose, is light on his feet and shabbily dashing."
Nora, on the other hand, has evolved from thrifty, retired nun to a woman down to the moths in her pocketbook and clothes borrowed from a fellow lodger who says he has too many. She has some shirts and trousers to choose from, though she has to roll up the sleeves and legs to make them fit.
"She puts on a fresh shirt and the jumper, belting her shapeless coat over the top and adding a beret. It's a look halfway between woman of mystery and lobster fisher. Nora slips her notebook and dwindled funds into her coat pocket.
. . .
"Nora walks into the foyer of the Marine Hotel with the air of a woman who means business. Her shirt may be crumpled but her beret is at a jaunty tilt. Her coat may have seen better days, but she wears it with panache; loose-belted, rolled sleeves and the collar pulled high."
Rideout and another fellow pass her off as 'manly' enough to have dinner in a gentlemen's club, which is a real no-no. She has become appreciative of wine and brandy - becoming tipsy from time to time. I enjoyed her growth as a character, and I always like Kidd's writing and people.
"Harry Stritch appears to be terribly tall and terribly thin. He has the look of something that is difficult to fold, like an easel or a wallpaper-pasting table. All knees and elbows, as Nora's granny would say."
Nora is greeted at an old manor house that was converted to a kind of rest home years ago.
"The nurse peers at the card. 'Now, I'm not sure how great you'll find us. The moths hang off the curtains and the mice skate over the floor. The roof leaks bucketfuls so that we've had to move the patients to the ground floor and the draughts will cut the legs off you.'"
The atmosphere of the setting is overpowering – the cold, the raw ocean, the biting winds. These are what Nora loves and starts her days with.
"She kicks off her shoes and walks into the sea, and hitching up her trouser legs, walks deeper. The cold is shocking but she holds her position beyond numb. Knowing that when she comes out, she will feel a painful tingle and an odd sort of exhilaration, for these sensations mean that she's alive. Alive and part of a limitless world of movement and noise."
Loved it and look forward to the next. Thanks to #NetGalley and Faber and Faber for a copy of #MurderattheSpiritLounge for review.
"The light is failing quickly, so that the high hedges either side of the lane loom darkly and Nora feels like a rat running down a gutter. She senses that she's being followed but hears only her own footsteps, and the hammering of her heart, and the rush of blood in her ears. Nora keeps her nerve. One-two-one-two. Quick march towards the station. A distance that seems five times longer now than it did in broad daylight."
Nora Breen is definitely finding her feet in the rather tatty Gulls Nest boarding house at Gore-on-Sea on the Kent coast of southeast England. The author brings new readers up to speed easily, explaining Nora's previous life as a nun and nurse, now 'free' from the demands of the convent and able to pursue whatever she wishes.
She had no idea what she was looking for, but it was impossible to ignore the unexplained deaths in the boarding house, and a lesser person might have fled to a more salubrious location.
Her growing interest in the puzzle of the murders led her to assist (her attitude) or interfere with (his attitude) Detective Inspector Rideout's investigation. Her obvious intelligence and quick wit won the day, and here she has been invited to help figure out this apparently closed-room mystery.
A séance, attended by Rideout and six other clients, ends in catastrophe almost as soon as it starts, with a shocking death and a roomful of terrified suspects, each wondering if the message "Eve" had been meant for them.
"'The detective inspector has telephoned me at the station and told me to find a duty doctor, but they are all out on call.'
'So, Rideout asked you to bring me instead?'
'No. That was my idea.' The constable's expression turns from earnest to beseeching. 'Will you come, Miss Breen?'
She will, of course."
I imagine the author must have been tempted to work some magical realism into this, given the nature of séances, but she resisted. This is a straight-forward, though complicated, mystery that harks back many years into the lives of the various people and how their paths may have crossed.
Some characters are members of a visiting troop of actors, which adds more colour to the story of this small town.
Rideout and Breen, as he insists upon addressing her, are developing a nice camaraderie with a little extra warmth that makes it difficult for them when each sees the other step into danger. They've begun to care.
"Rideout gets out of his car, puts on his trilby and climbs the front steps. Not for the first time Nora observes that the detective inspector looks a lot like a leading man. He moves with vigour and purpose, is light on his feet and shabbily dashing."
Nora, on the other hand, has evolved from thrifty, retired nun to a woman down to the moths in her pocketbook and clothes borrowed from a fellow lodger who says he has too many. She has some shirts and trousers to choose from, though she has to roll up the sleeves and legs to make them fit.
"She puts on a fresh shirt and the jumper, belting her shapeless coat over the top and adding a beret. It's a look halfway between woman of mystery and lobster fisher. Nora slips her notebook and dwindled funds into her coat pocket.
. . .
"Nora walks into the foyer of the Marine Hotel with the air of a woman who means business. Her shirt may be crumpled but her beret is at a jaunty tilt. Her coat may have seen better days, but she wears it with panache; loose-belted, rolled sleeves and the collar pulled high."
Rideout and another fellow pass her off as 'manly' enough to have dinner in a gentlemen's club, which is a real no-no. She has become appreciative of wine and brandy - becoming tipsy from time to time. I enjoyed her growth as a character, and I always like Kidd's writing and people.
"Harry Stritch appears to be terribly tall and terribly thin. He has the look of something that is difficult to fold, like an easel or a wallpaper-pasting table. All knees and elbows, as Nora's granny would say."
Nora is greeted at an old manor house that was converted to a kind of rest home years ago.
"The nurse peers at the card. 'Now, I'm not sure how great you'll find us. The moths hang off the curtains and the mice skate over the floor. The roof leaks bucketfuls so that we've had to move the patients to the ground floor and the draughts will cut the legs off you.'"
The atmosphere of the setting is overpowering – the cold, the raw ocean, the biting winds. These are what Nora loves and starts her days with.
"She kicks off her shoes and walks into the sea, and hitching up her trouser legs, walks deeper. The cold is shocking but she holds her position beyond numb. Knowing that when she comes out, she will feel a painful tingle and an odd sort of exhilaration, for these sensations mean that she's alive. Alive and part of a limitless world of movement and noise."
Loved it and look forward to the next. Thanks to #NetGalley and Faber and Faber for a copy of #MurderattheSpiritLounge for review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Former nun Nora Breen loves to start her day with a walk along the beach. In the first paragraph of the book, we read that, "Nora Breen walks the shoreline, along the length of the deserted December beach. It is some form of lunacy that has her up and out at first light, every morning, traipsing along the tide's ragged hem, whatever the weather, whether the sky is a crisp laundry-day blue, or dawn arrives dark and drear. Wind-lashed, rain-drenched, frozen to the bone, she doesn't care. It's an exhilarating communion. Herself, braced against the elements, slipping over shingle, blown sideways, abraded by sand. Her head filled with the boom and hiss of wave over shale and the scream of gulls as they dip and jibe above. Then back to the boarding house with chapped lips, wild hair, a face like a slapped arse, and a thirst for hot coffee." On this day, however, the hot coffee will have to wait because as she's walking home, Inspector Rideout pulls up alongside her and asks her to accompany him to the home of Doreen Chimes, a clairvoyant, who has reported the theft of some property. She's having a seance that very night and she invites Inspector Rideout to attend. Her seances are by invitation only and as Nora learns when being shown around the house, there are always 5 'guests' and Doreen herself. (Note: on Goodreads she's called Dolores, but in my copy, she's Doreen). Also invited is Captain Fulford, another guest at the boarding house where Nora lives. Rideout attends the seance but things don't get very far before the lights go out and Doreen is dead. Was she the only target or are there more deaths to follow? Why would someone want to kill her? Who else was at the seance and why? Nora and Rideout proceed to look for answers to these questions while trying to prevent more murders.
I loved this book as much as I did the first one in the series. Although this is the second book in that series, it's not necessary to have read the first one to enjoy this one. It stands alone quite well, I think, but the first one does lay out more of Nora's backstory and her history in the boarding house and her life before, as well as that of some of the other recurring characters. In the first book, Nora was more unsure of herself in some ways, being in the outside world for the first time in decades. In this book, she's found her footing a bit more and although there are some things she still doesn't understand completely right away, she does draw on her experiences at the monastery to deal with people in ways that sometimes cause them to be taken aback. There is also humor in this book, which I quite enjoyed. I laughed out loud at times. The mystery is somewhat unusual, although I did see some things coming. The setting is beautifully done--as you can see from the paragraph above, Jess Kidd really places readers in the time and place and I was happy to spend time in 1950s England with her. The conclusion was interesting but satisfying. There's much to love in this book and I am already looking forward to the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for a digital review copy.
I loved this book as much as I did the first one in the series. Although this is the second book in that series, it's not necessary to have read the first one to enjoy this one. It stands alone quite well, I think, but the first one does lay out more of Nora's backstory and her history in the boarding house and her life before, as well as that of some of the other recurring characters. In the first book, Nora was more unsure of herself in some ways, being in the outside world for the first time in decades. In this book, she's found her footing a bit more and although there are some things she still doesn't understand completely right away, she does draw on her experiences at the monastery to deal with people in ways that sometimes cause them to be taken aback. There is also humor in this book, which I quite enjoyed. I laughed out loud at times. The mystery is somewhat unusual, although I did see some things coming. The setting is beautifully done--as you can see from the paragraph above, Jess Kidd really places readers in the time and place and I was happy to spend time in 1950s England with her. The conclusion was interesting but satisfying. There's much to love in this book and I am already looking forward to the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for a digital review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I recently read Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd, and only after starting did I realize it was the second book in the series. Thankfully, I had no trouble following along, and I definitely think this can be read as a standalone. That said, I do wish I had the background information on the characters that was likely established in the first book, so I’d recommend starting there if you want that extra context. I know I’ll be going back to read it myself! Thankfully, the ending of the first book isn’t spoiled here.
This was my first book by Jess Kidd, and I really enjoyed her writing style. Her writing style made the post–WWII setting feel incredibly immersive, especially through the characters’ vocabulary and expressions. The only downside was that I occasionally had to look up words or phrases I didn’t understand. Even so, I appreciated how realistic it made the story feel, and I think it added a lot to the atmosphere.
I also really enjoyed the characters and found them intriguing, especially Nora, a former nun who left her convent. I loved watching her detective work throughout the novel. While she isn’t officially a detective, she frequently assists Detective Rideout, and I found her intelligent and thoughtful. I especially appreciated that she worked through the mystery logically rather than stumbling upon answers through sheer dumb luck, which can sometimes happen in cozy mysteries. I could absolutely see her as a detective in her own right. Additionally, for anyone that tends to find amateur sleuths silly, Nora and Detective Rideout are absolutely not that! They are more serious characters.
The author also did a fantastic job fleshing out the supporting cast and giving each character their own distinct personality. As for the mystery itself, I loved how everything unraveled in the end. I genuinely couldn’t guess where the story was going and remained unsure throughout, which made the reading experience really fun and enjoyable!
My only real critique is that the pacing felt a little slow at times. However, the ending more than made up for it. Once things picked up, the story became tense and fast-paced, and I found myself genuinely worried for Detective Rideout’s safety, as well as poor Constable Griggs.
I will also mention that, while it wasn’t an issue for me personally, this book felt slightly more graphic than most cozy mysteries I’ve read. The descriptions aren’t overly detailed, and I still wouldn’t call it graphic, but some of the deaths were definitely more gruesome than what I typically expect from the genre. I wouldn’t let that stop anyone from reading it, but it’s worth being aware of going in.
Overall, this was a delightful and engaging mystery, and I’ll absolutely be continuing with the series!
Huge thanks for Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Release date is June 16th, 2026!
This was my first book by Jess Kidd, and I really enjoyed her writing style. Her writing style made the post–WWII setting feel incredibly immersive, especially through the characters’ vocabulary and expressions. The only downside was that I occasionally had to look up words or phrases I didn’t understand. Even so, I appreciated how realistic it made the story feel, and I think it added a lot to the atmosphere.
I also really enjoyed the characters and found them intriguing, especially Nora, a former nun who left her convent. I loved watching her detective work throughout the novel. While she isn’t officially a detective, she frequently assists Detective Rideout, and I found her intelligent and thoughtful. I especially appreciated that she worked through the mystery logically rather than stumbling upon answers through sheer dumb luck, which can sometimes happen in cozy mysteries. I could absolutely see her as a detective in her own right. Additionally, for anyone that tends to find amateur sleuths silly, Nora and Detective Rideout are absolutely not that! They are more serious characters.
The author also did a fantastic job fleshing out the supporting cast and giving each character their own distinct personality. As for the mystery itself, I loved how everything unraveled in the end. I genuinely couldn’t guess where the story was going and remained unsure throughout, which made the reading experience really fun and enjoyable!
My only real critique is that the pacing felt a little slow at times. However, the ending more than made up for it. Once things picked up, the story became tense and fast-paced, and I found myself genuinely worried for Detective Rideout’s safety, as well as poor Constable Griggs.
I will also mention that, while it wasn’t an issue for me personally, this book felt slightly more graphic than most cozy mysteries I’ve read. The descriptions aren’t overly detailed, and I still wouldn’t call it graphic, but some of the deaths were definitely more gruesome than what I typically expect from the genre. I wouldn’t let that stop anyone from reading it, but it’s worth being aware of going in.
Overall, this was a delightful and engaging mystery, and I’ll absolutely be continuing with the series!
Huge thanks for Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Release date is June 16th, 2026!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
‘A lapsed Nun, a Police Inspector and a Medium walk into a Lounge’ sounds like the start of a Shaggy Dog story – a comedic trope in the 1950s when this story is set. But what is the punchline? Nora Breen was a Carmelite Nun for thirty years, before leaving her Monastery in Ireland and moving to Gore-on Sea on the Kent Coast. Hilary Rideout was a bomber pilot in the War and is now the local Police Inspector. Doreen Chimes is a famous Medium, renowned for her ability to contact the deceased, and the War has certainly increased the number of the latter. Doreen only has invited clients at her séances, and Rideout is invited to the next one. Nora has no truck with such nonsense and can’t see why her friend and associate should wish to attend but goes along with him to check-out the set-up before the séance – hence my opening line. Rideout goes to the event where he is one of seven attendees, and the ‘show’ begins. The Spirit Lounge is dimly lit, mostly by candles, everyone holds hands, the planchette starts to spell out a message and then there is a loud bang, and the room is plunged into darkness. When order is restored, they discover that Doreen has passed from the Corporate world to the Spirit world. Natural causes? Accident? Murder? While that choice is being resolved, the seven attendees start to die and Nora is determined to solve the mystery and find their killer before Rideout becomes a victim.
This is the second in a cozy crime series featuring Breen and Rideout. Nora relates the events and does most of the puzzle solving, while Rideout lets her tag along – simultaneously claiming she is interfering and putting herself at risk but also asking her advice and inviting her attendance at crime scenes. So an odd couple, but not a unique device in this genre. Nora must be about fifty (postulant at around eighteen and then thirty years in the monastery); Rideout should be early thirties (average age of a bomber pilot in 1945 was about twenty-three and the story appears to be set in the mid-fifties) but his description makes him seem to be older. There is a romantic frisson between them, nevertheless (as there is between Nora and Hosmer the town’s photographer). Still age isn’t everything! Nora as narrator is prone to description by list; for example Doreen is described as: “Russet of hair, green of eye, curling of lip, voluptuous of form”. The plot is not hard to work out, but it rolls along quite nicely until the final confrontation, which is a bit scrambled. So not perfect, for me, but cozy crime readers will love it.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
This is the second in a cozy crime series featuring Breen and Rideout. Nora relates the events and does most of the puzzle solving, while Rideout lets her tag along – simultaneously claiming she is interfering and putting herself at risk but also asking her advice and inviting her attendance at crime scenes. So an odd couple, but not a unique device in this genre. Nora must be about fifty (postulant at around eighteen and then thirty years in the monastery); Rideout should be early thirties (average age of a bomber pilot in 1945 was about twenty-three and the story appears to be set in the mid-fifties) but his description makes him seem to be older. There is a romantic frisson between them, nevertheless (as there is between Nora and Hosmer the town’s photographer). Still age isn’t everything! Nora as narrator is prone to description by list; for example Doreen is described as: “Russet of hair, green of eye, curling of lip, voluptuous of form”. The plot is not hard to work out, but it rolls along quite nicely until the final confrontation, which is a bit scrambled. So not perfect, for me, but cozy crime readers will love it.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to Faber Books for sending me a GIFTED proof Murder At the Spirit Lounge, the second book in Jess Kidd's Nora Breen Investigates Series.
We first encounter former Nun, Nora Breen, in Murder At Gulls Nest. Now she is back for another adventure in Gore-on-Sea, and this time it's spookily spectral in nature!
Dolores Chimes, a famous, and very glamorous medium, has arrived in the seaside town, and is causing quite the stir. So much so that even Detective Inspector Rideout is lured to attend one of her séances by her promises of messages from the afterlife.
But the reading goes disastrously wrong, Dolores loses her life, and in the following days, the people who attended the séance also succumb to supernatural deaths, one by one.
Sceptical Nora is determined to unveil the truth, and finds herself chasing the ghostly serial killer she believes to be responsible. But can she do so before the final victim, Detective Rideout himself, perishes?
Oh how I loved being back in the company of the inimitable Nora. She really is my kind of gal: a plain speaking, gutsy, observer of human nature, intelligent, extremely practical, and full of common sense.
Rideout pretends she's a nuisance, but anyone can see that he'd be lost without Nora's perceptive powers of detection, and their dynamic has such chemistry.
In this second brilliant instalment, the characters are developing nicely, and I really enjoyed seeing different elements of Rideout's and Nora's personalities being revealed, as the spark between them grows.
They're a great working partnership solving clues and detecting crime, but they're also a great romance waiting to happen. Yes, Nora has a soft spot for Hosmer, the photographer, but you can see Rideout is the one for her, and she for him, and I'm here for it!
It's also fun to see more of life at Gulls Nest, with Bill and his 'contacts'; silent, will-o-the-wisp Dinah; and Irene with her seriously amusing deficit in the hospitality and culinary skills department.
The plot has plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep you guessing, and a very neat twist, which combine with the wry humour, engaging characters, and the deftly created sense of a 1950s seaside town, to make a really appealing and quirky read for lovers of cosy crime looking for their next satisfying read.
I absolutely loved it, and it's crying out for a BBC TV adaptation - I've had so much fun deciding which actors might be perfect for each of the characters!
Thank you Jess Kidd and Faber for a great, great read. There's only one problem....I'm now ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE for book three!!
We first encounter former Nun, Nora Breen, in Murder At Gulls Nest. Now she is back for another adventure in Gore-on-Sea, and this time it's spookily spectral in nature!
Dolores Chimes, a famous, and very glamorous medium, has arrived in the seaside town, and is causing quite the stir. So much so that even Detective Inspector Rideout is lured to attend one of her séances by her promises of messages from the afterlife.
But the reading goes disastrously wrong, Dolores loses her life, and in the following days, the people who attended the séance also succumb to supernatural deaths, one by one.
Sceptical Nora is determined to unveil the truth, and finds herself chasing the ghostly serial killer she believes to be responsible. But can she do so before the final victim, Detective Rideout himself, perishes?
Oh how I loved being back in the company of the inimitable Nora. She really is my kind of gal: a plain speaking, gutsy, observer of human nature, intelligent, extremely practical, and full of common sense.
Rideout pretends she's a nuisance, but anyone can see that he'd be lost without Nora's perceptive powers of detection, and their dynamic has such chemistry.
In this second brilliant instalment, the characters are developing nicely, and I really enjoyed seeing different elements of Rideout's and Nora's personalities being revealed, as the spark between them grows.
They're a great working partnership solving clues and detecting crime, but they're also a great romance waiting to happen. Yes, Nora has a soft spot for Hosmer, the photographer, but you can see Rideout is the one for her, and she for him, and I'm here for it!
It's also fun to see more of life at Gulls Nest, with Bill and his 'contacts'; silent, will-o-the-wisp Dinah; and Irene with her seriously amusing deficit in the hospitality and culinary skills department.
The plot has plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep you guessing, and a very neat twist, which combine with the wry humour, engaging characters, and the deftly created sense of a 1950s seaside town, to make a really appealing and quirky read for lovers of cosy crime looking for their next satisfying read.
I absolutely loved it, and it's crying out for a BBC TV adaptation - I've had so much fun deciding which actors might be perfect for each of the characters!
Thank you Jess Kidd and Faber for a great, great read. There's only one problem....I'm now ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE for book three!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
March 28, 2026"The way to find a needle in a haystack is to sit down." (Beryl Markham)
Jess Kidd slides another needle into an almost insurmountable haystack in Murder at the Spirit Lounge. This is another delicious mystery just like the first book in this series, Murder at the Gulls Nest (2025). This one can definitely be read as a standalone, but you'd miss all the interactions of these quirky characters with a bit of humor tossed here and there in the first one.
Nora Breen is a former nun who resides at a boardinghouse in Gore-on-Sea in the 1950's. She's short on funds but never short on resourcefulness and wit. Nora found herself assisting DI Rideout of the local police to solve a mystery in the first book. Nora has an uncanny ability to see the underside of humans and what they're capable of. She's also quick-witted and speaks her mind straight out with no filters much to the arched eyebrow of Rideout.
Murder at the Spirit Lounge has a nice Agatha Christie vibe to it. We're hunkered down in the home of the famous medium, Dolores Chimes. We observe six "sitters" by invitation only seated around a table in a room lit only by candlelight. As Dolores leans in and manipulates her spirit board, she suddenly gasps and does a face plant on the table. The table catches fire. They run to put out the fire only glancing over at the now dead Dolores. What in the world happened?
DI Rideout calls upon Nora to assist him in this small village. Nora definitely picks up on wayward clues and the wayward behaviors of the suspects. And as this story rolls out, each of the "sitters" will be meeting up with their own demise much like Dolores. But why? What is their connection?
Murder at the Spirit Lounge is a bit of a slow mover. But hear me out. Sleuthing was done back then on foot with ringing doorbells and following up on word-of-mouth clues. No iPhones nor high tech. The mind shuffled around the unknown to the known. The process of reasoning, indeed. We readers are the ride alongs and sitting next to Nora is a hoot. Jess Kidd takes the action far outside of Nora's boarding house, but there's plenty of goings-on within that weirdly funny house as well with its inhabitants. The crimes are serious, but getting there adds such an amusing tone. Well done as always, Jess Kidd. Well done.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Atria Books and to the talented Jess Kidd for the opportunity.
Jess Kidd slides another needle into an almost insurmountable haystack in Murder at the Spirit Lounge. This is another delicious mystery just like the first book in this series, Murder at the Gulls Nest (2025). This one can definitely be read as a standalone, but you'd miss all the interactions of these quirky characters with a bit of humor tossed here and there in the first one.
Nora Breen is a former nun who resides at a boardinghouse in Gore-on-Sea in the 1950's. She's short on funds but never short on resourcefulness and wit. Nora found herself assisting DI Rideout of the local police to solve a mystery in the first book. Nora has an uncanny ability to see the underside of humans and what they're capable of. She's also quick-witted and speaks her mind straight out with no filters much to the arched eyebrow of Rideout.
Murder at the Spirit Lounge has a nice Agatha Christie vibe to it. We're hunkered down in the home of the famous medium, Dolores Chimes. We observe six "sitters" by invitation only seated around a table in a room lit only by candlelight. As Dolores leans in and manipulates her spirit board, she suddenly gasps and does a face plant on the table. The table catches fire. They run to put out the fire only glancing over at the now dead Dolores. What in the world happened?
DI Rideout calls upon Nora to assist him in this small village. Nora definitely picks up on wayward clues and the wayward behaviors of the suspects. And as this story rolls out, each of the "sitters" will be meeting up with their own demise much like Dolores. But why? What is their connection?
Murder at the Spirit Lounge is a bit of a slow mover. But hear me out. Sleuthing was done back then on foot with ringing doorbells and following up on word-of-mouth clues. No iPhones nor high tech. The mind shuffled around the unknown to the known. The process of reasoning, indeed. We readers are the ride alongs and sitting next to Nora is a hoot. Jess Kidd takes the action far outside of Nora's boarding house, but there's plenty of goings-on within that weirdly funny house as well with its inhabitants. The crimes are serious, but getting there adds such an amusing tone. Well done as always, Jess Kidd. Well done.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Atria Books and to the talented Jess Kidd for the opportunity.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nora Breen is a 30-something former cloistered nun, now living in a ramshackle seaside rooming house in Gore-On-Sea as she starts her secular life. Nora likes Gulls Nest for its low price and the wild beauty of the view from her oceanfront room. They are just enough to make up for the absolutely appalling breakfasts and dinners that come with the weekly fee. Gore-On-Sea is also shaping up to be a place where she can make new friends, pick up work, and learn that she has what it takes to be an investigator.
In the first book in this series, Detective Chief Inspector Rideout was called to Gulls Nest because of a death—which was just the beginning. Nora, being on the spot, was able to winkle out most of the important clues—and, what’s more, she has the insights into people that allow her to solve the puzzles of crime. Rideout is resistant, reluctant, and then reasonable enough to see her value to his investigation.
Now, in this book, months have passed and we’re approaching the end of the year. Rideout asks Nora to accompany him to his interview of clairvoyant Dolores Chimes, who has claimed, yet again, that someone has stolen an item from her house. Other officers have reported that Chimes is a bit of a maneater, so Rideout wants Nora along to protect his virtue. Within days afterward, Rideout calls Nora out to Dolores Chimes’s house again, only this time it’s to a murder scene. The murder took place in the middle of a seance, and is just the start of what appears to be a serial killer’s determination to murder everyone present at the seance—which includes Rideout.
I enjoyed this every bit as much, and maybe a little more, than the first book in the series. We see Nora’s wide-ranging interview skills, as she questions domestics, high-society members, theater people, and even powerful criminals. She’s not just highly perceptive; she adapts her questioning style to the personality of the interviewee. It’s especially entertaining to see her use the style of her former mother superior to cow the criminal tough guy.
I’m not wild about the will they/won’t they with Nora and Rideout, but I understand that many readers prefer some romance or at least romantic possibility in their cozy mysteries.
In the first book in this series, Detective Chief Inspector Rideout was called to Gulls Nest because of a death—which was just the beginning. Nora, being on the spot, was able to winkle out most of the important clues—and, what’s more, she has the insights into people that allow her to solve the puzzles of crime. Rideout is resistant, reluctant, and then reasonable enough to see her value to his investigation.
Now, in this book, months have passed and we’re approaching the end of the year. Rideout asks Nora to accompany him to his interview of clairvoyant Dolores Chimes, who has claimed, yet again, that someone has stolen an item from her house. Other officers have reported that Chimes is a bit of a maneater, so Rideout wants Nora along to protect his virtue. Within days afterward, Rideout calls Nora out to Dolores Chimes’s house again, only this time it’s to a murder scene. The murder took place in the middle of a seance, and is just the start of what appears to be a serial killer’s determination to murder everyone present at the seance—which includes Rideout.
I enjoyed this every bit as much, and maybe a little more, than the first book in the series. We see Nora’s wide-ranging interview skills, as she questions domestics, high-society members, theater people, and even powerful criminals. She’s not just highly perceptive; she adapts her questioning style to the personality of the interviewee. It’s especially entertaining to see her use the style of her former mother superior to cow the criminal tough guy.
I’m not wild about the will they/won’t they with Nora and Rideout, but I understand that many readers prefer some romance or at least romantic possibility in their cozy mysteries.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Jess Kidd’s Nora Breen series is dramatically different from the other two books I’d read by the author, Things in Jars and The Night Ship, and as traditional mysteries are much more my cup of tea.
Nora Breen is a former nun who initially ends up in Gore-on-Sea in the first book of the series, and decides she rather likes it and decides to stay. The lull in excitement after solving a series of murders has her feeling restless, so naturally the small seaside community serves up a series of new murders for her to investigate along with her friend and Detective Sergeant Rideout.
The murders start with a local medium during a gathering, and attendees of the gathering began dying in quick succession almost immediately after. This causes Nora great concern, because Rideout was one of the attendees.
Nora discovers over the course of the first few murders that all of the attendees likely had one person in common, Evelyn Leyton. But Leyton died three years ago, so who is the murderer?
As attendees continue dying the sense of urgency increases that Rideout could be next. Kidd does a great job of creating this sense of urgency, with the macabre deaths that happen despite police protection, ghostly soldiers, tailing cars, and a suspenseful ending.
I loved the reveal of the murderer and how they were able to get away with everything they did. I did struggle some with their reasoning for killing all the people associated with Evelyn. I expected them all to be guilty of doing something horrible to him, but it seemed to be more about knowing Evelyn and being relatively close geographically.
I also enjoy the whodunnit of a traditional mystery, and while the why didn’t feel entirely satisfying, the how element of it was great. Kidd also keeps the stories from feeling too much like a cozy mystery, where cutesy storylines and comic relief can often detract the mystery that’s supposed to be the primary storyline. I look forward to the next book in the Nora Breen series, because I know it will be coming at some point!
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Nora Breen is a former nun who initially ends up in Gore-on-Sea in the first book of the series, and decides she rather likes it and decides to stay. The lull in excitement after solving a series of murders has her feeling restless, so naturally the small seaside community serves up a series of new murders for her to investigate along with her friend and Detective Sergeant Rideout.
The murders start with a local medium during a gathering, and attendees of the gathering began dying in quick succession almost immediately after. This causes Nora great concern, because Rideout was one of the attendees.
Nora discovers over the course of the first few murders that all of the attendees likely had one person in common, Evelyn Leyton. But Leyton died three years ago, so who is the murderer?
As attendees continue dying the sense of urgency increases that Rideout could be next. Kidd does a great job of creating this sense of urgency, with the macabre deaths that happen despite police protection, ghostly soldiers, tailing cars, and a suspenseful ending.
I loved the reveal of the murderer and how they were able to get away with everything they did. I did struggle some with their reasoning for killing all the people associated with Evelyn. I expected them all to be guilty of doing something horrible to him, but it seemed to be more about knowing Evelyn and being relatively close geographically.
I also enjoy the whodunnit of a traditional mystery, and while the why didn’t feel entirely satisfying, the how element of it was great. Kidd also keeps the stories from feeling too much like a cozy mystery, where cutesy storylines and comic relief can often detract the mystery that’s supposed to be the primary storyline. I look forward to the next book in the Nora Breen series, because I know it will be coming at some point!
A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Nora Breen is settling in at Gore-on-Sea. Detective Inspector Hilary Rideout is getting into a habit of asking her to accompany him to cases, she stops by to listen to music and drink coffee with Hosmer of Hosmer's Photographic Studio, and she's been recommended for a writing gig with the Gore-on-Sea Herald. Then Dolores Chimes' reading goes disastrously wrong, leading to the death of the medium herself, followed by the people in attendance. Breen and Rideout must solve the mysterious killings before the last victim - Rideout - dies.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the first book (Murder at Gulls Nest). I'm not sure whether it's because Breen is less unlikeable in this one, or because I'm somewhat familiar with her now. The third person present tense is still a little jarring at times, but it is what it is. (I cannot figure out why this irks me so much when I've read other stories in this style - maybe because those were usually short stories and not a full novel? idk)
I'm ambivalent about the love triangle subplot, even if it does add to some of the tension in the book. Rideout and Breen's relationship has progressed to a place where it feels more natural - and rather like a good partnership - even if Breen is a little oblivious to Rideout's feelings. Adding another suitor, which Breen is again rather oblivious about, felt rather awkward.
At any rate, the mystery itself is a tantalising morsel. There are so many threads to pull on, so many secrets and hidden relationships to reveal, and it's easy to get absorbed into the tragedies playing out in Gore-on-Nest. It snaps along at a good pace, full of tension.
Overall, another exciting whodunit!
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the first book (Murder at Gulls Nest). I'm not sure whether it's because Breen is less unlikeable in this one, or because I'm somewhat familiar with her now. The third person present tense is still a little jarring at times, but it is what it is. (I cannot figure out why this irks me so much when I've read other stories in this style - maybe because those were usually short stories and not a full novel? idk)
I'm ambivalent about the love triangle subplot, even if it does add to some of the tension in the book. Rideout and Breen's relationship has progressed to a place where it feels more natural - and rather like a good partnership - even if Breen is a little oblivious to Rideout's feelings. Adding another suitor, which Breen is again rather oblivious about, felt rather awkward.
At any rate, the mystery itself is a tantalising morsel. There are so many threads to pull on, so many secrets and hidden relationships to reveal, and it's easy to get absorbed into the tragedies playing out in Gore-on-Nest. It snaps along at a good pace, full of tension.
Overall, another exciting whodunit!
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Nora the ex-nun investigates another murder!
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to this one, but I found it to be a mixed bag.
On the up side, a lot of the writing was extremely good. The pursuit of who was Evelyn was interesting, and the answer was clever! Father Conway the gull who regularly demands food from Nora, was a fun minor character . There were many small details and descriptions that presented a good portrait of the environment and contributed a good deal of reading pleasure. For example, this paragraph evoked a nice picture: “The village is picturesque, pleasingly arranged around a green with a duck pond. There is a sprinkling of cottages and an ancient church. The village pub is squat and thatched. There is a shop and post office, a bicycle propped outside and a sheepdog sat waiting for its owner.” Nora is an interesting character whom I would not mind seeing again (I recommend you read the first book, where you meet her, before you read this one ).
On the down side, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, and the first chapter in the book was disappointing. The first page was both dull and crude, e.g., when Nora returns from a walk in bad weather with “a face like a slapped arse”. The overall setup seemed contrived, and when Rideout announces who the chief suspect is, it appears to be out of the blue, even though he turns out to be correct. There were too many insights like this that seemed to have no real basis but were correct. I cannot give details without spoiling the book, though. I found both the motive and the technique for the murder overly contrived. The possible love triangle was unnecessary and seemed like a cliche, The book description itself was misleading. The murder techniques, with the possible exception of the first murder, were not in any way apparently supernatural, and ultimately not all of the attendees died.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Edelweiss and Atria Books.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to this one, but I found it to be a mixed bag.
On the up side, a lot of the writing was extremely good. The pursuit of who was Evelyn was interesting, and the answer was clever! Father Conway the gull who regularly demands food from Nora, was a fun minor character . There were many small details and descriptions that presented a good portrait of the environment and contributed a good deal of reading pleasure. For example, this paragraph evoked a nice picture: “The village is picturesque, pleasingly arranged around a green with a duck pond. There is a sprinkling of cottages and an ancient church. The village pub is squat and thatched. There is a shop and post office, a bicycle propped outside and a sheepdog sat waiting for its owner.” Nora is an interesting character whom I would not mind seeing again (I recommend you read the first book, where you meet her, before you read this one ).
On the down side, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, and the first chapter in the book was disappointing. The first page was both dull and crude, e.g., when Nora returns from a walk in bad weather with “a face like a slapped arse”. The overall setup seemed contrived, and when Rideout announces who the chief suspect is, it appears to be out of the blue, even though he turns out to be correct. There were too many insights like this that seemed to have no real basis but were correct. I cannot give details without spoiling the book, though. I found both the motive and the technique for the murder overly contrived. The possible love triangle was unnecessary and seemed like a cliche, The book description itself was misleading. The murder techniques, with the possible exception of the first murder, were not in any way apparently supernatural, and ultimately not all of the attendees died.
I received an advance review copy of this book from Edelweiss and Atria Books.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
We return with Nora to Gulls Nest where the food is iffy and she finds herself in the middle of another mystery. A psychic medium is killed in the middle of a seance but that is just the beginning as it soom becomes clear that everyone who attended is in danger.
The story takes place in England in 1954, picking up not too long after the events of the first novel. Nora is still residing at Gulls Nest and a few other residents/characters return in this book. I love the setting of this series and I love Nora as a main character. She knows a lot of things but is inexperienced in other areas of life. I love her enthusiasm for strolling by the sea and loving it whether it's bracingly cold or warm and sunny. Her excitement and watching her do new things after decades of life as a nun is fun to watch. The other characters are wonderful too especially Detective Rideout. It feels so natural how he includes Nora in the investigation and their developing relationship is fun to watch.
The mystery in this is so interesting.Things progress in strange and increasingly dangerous ways from there. There is a real sense of urgency to solve the case. I did sort of guess the killer who is very diabolical. The showdown with the killer is exciting and a little frightening in one scene that is a bit like a certain classic horror book.
The writing in this series is so good. You feel like you're reading a classic mystery. I loved how the murder scene was described as all the potential evidence was presented for the characters/reader. Every word and sentence in Murder At the Spirit Lounge is a joy to read. I loved Murder At Gulls Nest and I think I love this one even more!
Thank you @atriabooks for the eARC! Murder At the Spirit Lounge will be published June 16th. All opinions are my own.
The story takes place in England in 1954, picking up not too long after the events of the first novel. Nora is still residing at Gulls Nest and a few other residents/characters return in this book. I love the setting of this series and I love Nora as a main character. She knows a lot of things but is inexperienced in other areas of life. I love her enthusiasm for strolling by the sea and loving it whether it's bracingly cold or warm and sunny. Her excitement and watching her do new things after decades of life as a nun is fun to watch. The other characters are wonderful too especially Detective Rideout. It feels so natural how he includes Nora in the investigation and their developing relationship is fun to watch.
The mystery in this is so interesting.Things progress in strange and increasingly dangerous ways from there. There is a real sense of urgency to solve the case. I did sort of guess the killer who is very diabolical. The showdown with the killer is exciting and a little frightening in one scene that is a bit like a certain classic horror book.
The writing in this series is so good. You feel like you're reading a classic mystery. I loved how the murder scene was described as all the potential evidence was presented for the characters/reader. Every word and sentence in Murder At the Spirit Lounge is a joy to read. I loved Murder At Gulls Nest and I think I love this one even more!
Thank you @atriabooks for the eARC! Murder At the Spirit Lounge will be published June 16th. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I wholeheartedly enjoyed the latest installment of the Nora Breen series. Former nun turned detective is back with yet another case from her boarding house at Gull’s Nest on the seaside in England. While this is the second in the series, there is no reason it cannot be read as a standalone. Enough background knowledge is given to keep one understanding Nora.
Nora is joined by her friend and true police detective, Rideout, and his trusty constable, Griggs.
Nora is summoned to the Spirit Lounge to assist a medium who has met her untimely end during a seance. Nora, having been a nurse, is the closest available medical person to help the remaining seance sitters.
Over the course of time, another seance sitter will also be found dead, which now makes this a serial killer investigation, assuming that the murders are linked. The town gossip says that the medium raised a malevolent spirit bent on getting revenge. Nora doesn’t buy this for a moment. She is bound and determined to solve this crime spree before her dear friend Rideout, one of the seance sitters, becomes the next victim.
Witty, charming, and definitely mysterious, this book is fun as can be. Nora is the least likely detective ever, but she’s so good at it. We get a little sniff of romance for Nora in this one. There is also more focus on the second World War’s victims and survivors. This is historical fiction and mystery wrapped up in one. Jess Kidd does a great job of setting us in the 1940s in a small English town. Nora overstepping her expected role. Nora is a character for someone who once was a nun.
If you enjoyed number one, you will love number two. If you want, you can just read this one. But Nora is such fun, I think you should start with Murder at Gull’s Nest and then move on to this. Fairly fast read.
Nora is joined by her friend and true police detective, Rideout, and his trusty constable, Griggs.
Nora is summoned to the Spirit Lounge to assist a medium who has met her untimely end during a seance. Nora, having been a nurse, is the closest available medical person to help the remaining seance sitters.
Over the course of time, another seance sitter will also be found dead, which now makes this a serial killer investigation, assuming that the murders are linked. The town gossip says that the medium raised a malevolent spirit bent on getting revenge. Nora doesn’t buy this for a moment. She is bound and determined to solve this crime spree before her dear friend Rideout, one of the seance sitters, becomes the next victim.
Witty, charming, and definitely mysterious, this book is fun as can be. Nora is the least likely detective ever, but she’s so good at it. We get a little sniff of romance for Nora in this one. There is also more focus on the second World War’s victims and survivors. This is historical fiction and mystery wrapped up in one. Jess Kidd does a great job of setting us in the 1940s in a small English town. Nora overstepping her expected role. Nora is a character for someone who once was a nun.
If you enjoyed number one, you will love number two. If you want, you can just read this one. But Nora is such fun, I think you should start with Murder at Gull’s Nest and then move on to this. Fairly fast read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved Jess Kidd’s second Nora Breen mystery, Murder at the Spirit Lounge, despite the author adopting the one writing style that I detest: writing the novel in the present tense. It is artificial, it does not create a “immersive, immediate, and high-stakes reading experience”, despite what AI might generate from trawling the Internet. However, that’s the author’s choice…
Nora, the ex-nun resident in a seaside boarding house, is invited by her friend, Detective Inspector Rideout, to accompany him to interview a woman who says she’s been robbed. The woman is a medium and people attend her seances by personal invitation only. The story continues with Rideout being one of those invited to her next séance – which ends in a suspicious death.
Rideout and Breen make a terrific professional partnership and the novel shows the deepening friendship between the two. There is also her friend, Hosmer, the owner of a photographic studio, who is worried about her welfare and is very keen on taking her out for meals and for dancing. I found Hosmer’s devotion to Nora - and her ignorance of his (fairly obvious) feelings – quite touching. Hosmer recommends Nora to a local newspaper editor who needs a reporter. This, of course, gives Nora an excuse for inserting herself into various places and situations; and for asking lots of nosy questions – a brilliant plot development!
Although I identified the murderer with, I think, the first clue, I was still rapt until the very end. The book is very well-written, with an awful inevitability moving the plot; and great banter between Breen and the other characters. She does not waste time on niceties, saying what she thinks, whether it will be welcomed or not. Every page is a joy to read.
#MurderattheSpiritLounge #NetGalley
Nora, the ex-nun resident in a seaside boarding house, is invited by her friend, Detective Inspector Rideout, to accompany him to interview a woman who says she’s been robbed. The woman is a medium and people attend her seances by personal invitation only. The story continues with Rideout being one of those invited to her next séance – which ends in a suspicious death.
Rideout and Breen make a terrific professional partnership and the novel shows the deepening friendship between the two. There is also her friend, Hosmer, the owner of a photographic studio, who is worried about her welfare and is very keen on taking her out for meals and for dancing. I found Hosmer’s devotion to Nora - and her ignorance of his (fairly obvious) feelings – quite touching. Hosmer recommends Nora to a local newspaper editor who needs a reporter. This, of course, gives Nora an excuse for inserting herself into various places and situations; and for asking lots of nosy questions – a brilliant plot development!
Although I identified the murderer with, I think, the first clue, I was still rapt until the very end. The book is very well-written, with an awful inevitability moving the plot; and great banter between Breen and the other characters. She does not waste time on niceties, saying what she thinks, whether it will be welcomed or not. Every page is a joy to read.
#MurderattheSpiritLounge #NetGalley
May 16, 2026
Thank you Atria Books @atriabooks Netgalley @netgalley and Jess Kidd @jesskiddwriter for this free book!
“Murder at the Spirit Lounge” (Nora Breen Investigates #2) by Jess Kidd ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Cozy Mystery. Location: Kent, England. Time: December.
THE SERIES: In the early 1950s, Sister Agnes leaves her Carmelite convent, takes back her secular name (Nora Breen), arrives at Gulls Nest (a shabby boardinghouse “for Discerning Ladies and Gentlemen”) on a hill in the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. The series is a character study of Nora’s adaptation to secular life-plus murder mysteries!
THIS BOOK: When famous medium Doreen Chimes arrives in town, even grumpy Detective Inspector Rideout is lured in. When a reading goes wrong, Doreen loses her life. Now the 6 séance attendees are dying one-by-one in mysterious ways. Nora must chase a ghostly serial killer she believes is responsible before the 6th victim (Detective Rideout) dies like the others.
Author Kidd’s 2nd Nora Breen book is a cozy mystery full of red herrings, twisty turns, and delightfully impossible deaths. Lucky for us, some of book one’s colorful strays and waifs are back: smuggler Bill; silent, wild child Dinah(8); irritable housekeeper Irene. We learn that Nora definitely cares about photographer Hosmer, but don’t we all really hope for a Nora/Rideout romance? Kidd has a charmingly profound way with details and atmosphere: She describes Nora befriending a seagull she names Father Conway, taking her shoes off in the freezing ocean because she can, choosing to wear men’s trousers instead of dresses. Kidd’s book works as a stand alone, but read book 1 to really learn Nora’s background! It’s filled with mystery and murder, humor and heart, and it’s 5⭐️s from me 💁🏼♀️#norabreen #jesskidd #netgalley
“Murder at the Spirit Lounge” (Nora Breen Investigates #2) by Jess Kidd ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Cozy Mystery. Location: Kent, England. Time: December.
THE SERIES: In the early 1950s, Sister Agnes leaves her Carmelite convent, takes back her secular name (Nora Breen), arrives at Gulls Nest (a shabby boardinghouse “for Discerning Ladies and Gentlemen”) on a hill in the seaside town of Gore-on-Sea. The series is a character study of Nora’s adaptation to secular life-plus murder mysteries!
THIS BOOK: When famous medium Doreen Chimes arrives in town, even grumpy Detective Inspector Rideout is lured in. When a reading goes wrong, Doreen loses her life. Now the 6 séance attendees are dying one-by-one in mysterious ways. Nora must chase a ghostly serial killer she believes is responsible before the 6th victim (Detective Rideout) dies like the others.
Author Kidd’s 2nd Nora Breen book is a cozy mystery full of red herrings, twisty turns, and delightfully impossible deaths. Lucky for us, some of book one’s colorful strays and waifs are back: smuggler Bill; silent, wild child Dinah(8); irritable housekeeper Irene. We learn that Nora definitely cares about photographer Hosmer, but don’t we all really hope for a Nora/Rideout romance? Kidd has a charmingly profound way with details and atmosphere: She describes Nora befriending a seagull she names Father Conway, taking her shoes off in the freezing ocean because she can, choosing to wear men’s trousers instead of dresses. Kidd’s book works as a stand alone, but read book 1 to really learn Nora’s background! It’s filled with mystery and murder, humor and heart, and it’s 5⭐️s from me 💁🏼♀️#norabreen #jesskidd #netgalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Jess Kidd introduced her Miss-Marple-esque amateur detective Nora Breen in the delightful mystery – the Murder at Gulls Nest. In that book Breen left the monastery where she had lived for the last thirty years to find out what happened to one of her colleagues who left and was subsequently killed. The new book finds Breen still living in the Gulls Nest guest house in the small British seaside town of Gore-on-Sea, finding herself enjoying her new life.
When the book opens, Breen has been invited by Inspector Rideout to come with him to the house of the local medium, Dolores Chimes. Chimes is known for being able to contact the dead and is about to host a seance to which Rideout was invited. At that séance, Chimes dies under mysterious circumstances and it soon appears that others who attended are also the target of what some believe may be a malevolent spirit. Breen, who now has a job with the local newspaper, starts to investigate, and is particularly determined to solve the case when it turns out the Rideout himself may be in danger.
Nora Breen who loves nothing more than a good mystery as she tries to re-establish herself in the world outside the monastery. She is surrounded by a diverse and colourful cast of small town characters. And while perhaps there is possibly a little too much murder for such a small town, Gore-on-Sea would not be the first fictional British town to suffer in this way.
Murder at the Spirit Lounge is pretty classic cosy mystery set in a small British town in the years following World War 2. Those who read this sort of thing more will probably pick the culprit fairly early on, But the enjoyment here is living in the world of Nora Breen and a satisfying mystery well solved.
When the book opens, Breen has been invited by Inspector Rideout to come with him to the house of the local medium, Dolores Chimes. Chimes is known for being able to contact the dead and is about to host a seance to which Rideout was invited. At that séance, Chimes dies under mysterious circumstances and it soon appears that others who attended are also the target of what some believe may be a malevolent spirit. Breen, who now has a job with the local newspaper, starts to investigate, and is particularly determined to solve the case when it turns out the Rideout himself may be in danger.
Nora Breen who loves nothing more than a good mystery as she tries to re-establish herself in the world outside the monastery. She is surrounded by a diverse and colourful cast of small town characters. And while perhaps there is possibly a little too much murder for such a small town, Gore-on-Sea would not be the first fictional British town to suffer in this way.
Murder at the Spirit Lounge is pretty classic cosy mystery set in a small British town in the years following World War 2. Those who read this sort of thing more will probably pick the culprit fairly early on, But the enjoyment here is living in the world of Nora Breen and a satisfying mystery well solved.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I received an ARC of this book via a Goodreads giveaway (thanks Atria Books and Goodreads!). I realized after being notified that this was book 2 of the series, so I quickly grabbed book 1 (Murder at Gulls Nest) for my Kindle and read that one first.
As I started that first one, I really wasn't sure it would be for me as it had an odd protagonist (a nun who has recently left her convent to search for another former nun), and I thought she would be a fairly strait-laced, maybe even uninteresting protagonist. But then 30 pages into the first book she throws a shoe at a desk sergeant and I was hooked.
Sometimes you can read a book in a series as a stand-alone, but I think reading book 1 of this series REALLY helps you with book 2 - there are a lot of references back to the first book.
Spirit Lounge continues to advance the amateur sleuthing of Nora Breen and brings back most of the characters from Book 1 - the ones that survived at least (you'll have to read it to find out).
The mystery is really interesting this time as a seance goes wrong and then the "sitters" at the seance begin to be individually targeted. I thought the author did a good job of tying up the connections between what seems to be a random group of people at the seance.
As she does in "Gulls Nest" Ms. Kidd does a very good job with backstory. All of the characters in both books have very interesting backstories (another reason to read the books in order).
I really like historical mysteries and this one is set not long after WWII. Turns out Nora is a VERY interesting protagonist after all and I hope there are many more adventures with her ahead.
As I started that first one, I really wasn't sure it would be for me as it had an odd protagonist (a nun who has recently left her convent to search for another former nun), and I thought she would be a fairly strait-laced, maybe even uninteresting protagonist. But then 30 pages into the first book she throws a shoe at a desk sergeant and I was hooked.
Sometimes you can read a book in a series as a stand-alone, but I think reading book 1 of this series REALLY helps you with book 2 - there are a lot of references back to the first book.
Spirit Lounge continues to advance the amateur sleuthing of Nora Breen and brings back most of the characters from Book 1 - the ones that survived at least (you'll have to read it to find out).
The mystery is really interesting this time as a seance goes wrong and then the "sitters" at the seance begin to be individually targeted. I thought the author did a good job of tying up the connections between what seems to be a random group of people at the seance.
As she does in "Gulls Nest" Ms. Kidd does a very good job with backstory. All of the characters in both books have very interesting backstories (another reason to read the books in order).
I really like historical mysteries and this one is set not long after WWII. Turns out Nora is a VERY interesting protagonist after all and I hope there are many more adventures with her ahead.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the first installment of the Nora Breen series, Murder at Gulls Nest, and I enjoyed this one as much if not more so. The character of Nora Breen, Irish ex-nun now living in a boarding house in an English seaside town, is three dimensional and very likeable. She has a sharp wit but also a tender heart. I really appreciated how, even though this novel is in third person, we are so privy to Nora’s thoughts that it almost feels like first person.
In this chapter of Nora’s adventures, she is still living in Gulls Nest, a boardinghouse full of quirky people and site of the tragic murders that were the subject of the previous book. She is still in cautious, sometimes flirtatious friendship with Inspector Rideout, who finds her captivating and maddening all at the same time. Although he would prefer not to, he finds himself reluctantly involving her in police work.
This time, the police work revolves around a medium named Doreen Chimes, who runs seances for the upper crust from her stately home. One evening, a seance goes terribly wrong and there is a murder. Who is behind the death? Was it possibly the spirits she had called on, or is it a more earthly entity?
I think this book is most accurately described as “literary mystery.” Jess Kidd’s prose is self assured, well paced, and beautifully descriptive without being excessive. I hope she has plans for a third book about Nora Breen.
I really enjoyed the first installment of the Nora Breen series, Murder at Gulls Nest, and I enjoyed this one as much if not more so. The character of Nora Breen, Irish ex-nun now living in a boarding house in an English seaside town, is three dimensional and very likeable. She has a sharp wit but also a tender heart. I really appreciated how, even though this novel is in third person, we are so privy to Nora’s thoughts that it almost feels like first person.
In this chapter of Nora’s adventures, she is still living in Gulls Nest, a boardinghouse full of quirky people and site of the tragic murders that were the subject of the previous book. She is still in cautious, sometimes flirtatious friendship with Inspector Rideout, who finds her captivating and maddening all at the same time. Although he would prefer not to, he finds himself reluctantly involving her in police work.
This time, the police work revolves around a medium named Doreen Chimes, who runs seances for the upper crust from her stately home. One evening, a seance goes terribly wrong and there is a murder. Who is behind the death? Was it possibly the spirits she had called on, or is it a more earthly entity?
I think this book is most accurately described as “literary mystery.” Jess Kidd’s prose is self assured, well paced, and beautifully descriptive without being excessive. I hope she has plans for a third book about Nora Breen.
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